Defence Act 1954

(a)
a person subject to military law is convicted by a court-martial of an offence against
military law, and

(b)
the offence occasioned any personal injury, expense or loss or destruction of, or
damage to, any property,

the military judge presiding at the court-martial may, instead of or in addition to
any other punishment which he is authorised by this Act to award in respect of the
offence, order that there shall be paid by the person convicted compensation for the
personal injury, expense, loss, damage or destruction so occasioned to any person
(in this Act referred to as the
‘
injured party
’) who has suffered such personal injury, expense, loss, damage or destruction.

(2)
The compensation payable under this section shall be of such amount as the military
judge considers appropriate, having regard to any evidence and to any representations
that are made by or on behalf of the convicted person, the injured party or the Director
and, subject to the relevant maximum amounts specified in subsection (3) of this section,
shall not exceed the amount of the damages that, in the opinion of the military judge,
the injured party would be entitled to recover in a civil action against the convicted
person in respect of the injury, expense, loss, damage or destruction concerned.

(3)
In this section
‘relevant maximum amount’ means—

(a)
in the case of a compensation order made by a summary court-martial,
€10,000,

(b)
in the case of a compensation order made by the military judge presiding at a limited
court-martial,
€20,000,

(c)
in the case of a compensation order made by the military judge presiding at a general
court-martial,
€100,000.

(4)
Where the commission of the offence by the convicted person involved the taking of
property out of the possession of the injured party and the property has been recovered,
any loss occurring to the injured party by reason of the property being damaged while
out of his possession shall be treated for the purposes of subsection (1) of this
section as having resulted from the offence, irrespective of how the damage was caused
or who caused it.

(5)
In determining whether to make an order under this section against a person, and in
determining the amount of the compensation, the military judge shall have regard to
the person
’s means so far as they appear or are known to the military judge and for that purpose
the military judge may require the convicted person to give evidence as to his means
and financial commitments.

(6)
An order under this section may provide for payment of the compensation by such instalments
and at such times as the military judge considers reasonable in all the circumstances.

(7)
Where the military judge considers that
—

(a)
it would be appropriate both to award a fine under section 209 or 210, as the case
may be, and to make an order under this section, but

(b)
the convicted person has insufficient means to pay both an appropriate fine and appropriate
compensation,

the military judge may, if he is satisfied that the means are sufficient to justify
doing so, make an order under this section and if he is satisfied that it is appropriate
to do so having regard to the means that would remain after compliance with the order,
award a fine.

(8)
This section is without prejudice to any other enactment which provides for the payment
of compensation by a person convicted of an offence or otherwise proved to have committed
an offence.

(9)
For the purposes of this section
—

(a)
in a case where death has resulted from an offence specified in subsection (1) of
this section
—

‘loss’ means any matter (including mental distress resulting from the death and funeral
expenses) for which damages could be awarded in respect of the death by virtue of
Part V of the
Civil Liability Act 1961;

‘injured party’ includes a dependant (within the meaning of the said Part V) of the deceased person
concerned,

(b)
in a case where service property is the subject of an order under this section,
‘injured party’ includes the Minister.

(10)
An order under this section shall, for the purposes of this Act and the
Courts-Martial Appeals Act 1983, be deemed to be a sentence of a court-martial.
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